Magnetorheological down-hole packing elements

Abstract

Aspects of drilling, production, hydraulic fracturing, and well work-over operations operations that create full seal magnetorheological down-hole packing elements are described. Some examples describe a system that includes a magnetorheological fluid and a magnetic assembly tool (installed on a work-string) configured to generate a magnetic field and create, in a flow of the magnetorheological fluid, a semi-solid packing element, and/or a magneto-rheological effect altering the fluid viscosity, in a drill pipe, casing, or hole. Various examples also include disclosure of methods for releasing stuck pipe, controlling fluid loss while drilling, open-hole packing, conforming, plugging and abandoning, and multistage fracturing that can reduce operational risks and non-productive time.

At least the following is claimed: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a magnetic assembly tool;   a magnetorheological fluid comprising magnetorheological particles; and   placing the magnetic assembly tool to apply a magnetic field to a flow of the magnetorheological fluid to create at least one of: a semi-solid packing element based on a build-up of the magnetorheological particles near the magnetic field, or a magneto-rheological effect based on an alignment of the magnetorheological particles with the magnetic field.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein placing the magnetic assembly tool further comprises to achieve a purpose of at least one of: to release a differential sticking, to form a seal in a sub-pressurized formation, to allow several stages of hydraulic fracturing, to create a selective-resettable zonal packer, to isolate at least one of gas or water, or to set at a designated depth in a plug and abandonment operation. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein placing the magnetic assembly tool comprises placing the magnetic assembly tool in a drill pipe to release a differential sticking. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein placing the magnetic assembly tool comprises embedding the magnetic assembly tool outside a drill pipe. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the magnetic assembly tool comprises an arrangement of a plurality of magnets, and the placing the magnetic assembly tool comprises embedding the arrangement inside a casing. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of: the semi-solid packing element based on the build-up of the magnetorheological particles near the magnetic field, or the magneto-rheological effect based on the alignment of the magnetorheological particles with the magnetic field is in a plurality of annuli. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one of: the semi-solid packing element based on the build-up of the magnetorheological particles near the magnetic field, or the magneto-rheological effect based on the alignment of the magnetorheological particles with the magnetic field is between a pipe and an annulus. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , comprising the build-up of the magnetorheological particles between the pipe and the annulus. 
     
     
         9 . A magnetorheological fluid, comprising:
 a suspension of magnetic particles in a liquid, wherein:
 the liquid comprises a drilling fluid; and 
 the magnetic particles comprise an iron powder. 
   
     
     
         10 . The magnetorheological fluid of  claim 9 , wherein the iron powder is at least one of: a soft grade Carbonyl Iron Powder (CIP), or a hard grade CIP. 
     
     
         11 . The magnetorheological fluid of  claim 9 , further comprising at least one of: a viscocifier agent, or a carrier fluid. 
     
     
         12 . The magnetorheological fluid of  claim 11 , wherein the viscocifier agent is at least one of synthetic colloidal clay Laponite RD, non-polar Polyalphaolefin (PAO), Dioctyl Sebacate (DOS), Carbonyl Methyl Cellulose (CMC), or Xanthan Gum Kelzan. 
     
     
         13 . The magnetorheological fluid of  claim 11 , wherein the carrier fluid is at least one of: a petroleum-based oil, a mineral oil, water, a paraffin oil, a silicon oil, a polyether, a glycol, or a cement slurry. 
     
     
         14 . A magnetic assembly tool, comprising:
 an arrangement of at least one of a plurality of magnets configured to alter at least one of a plurality of rheological properties of at least one region of a flow of a magnetorheological fluid, the arrangement comprising at least one of a ring, a segmented ring, a multi-segmented ring, or a spiral; and   the arrangement further comprising an orientation of the at least one of the plurality of magnets configured to create at least one of: a build-up of magnetorheological particles of the magnetorheological fluid, or a magneto-rheological effect based on an alignment of the magnetorheological particles with a magnetic field.   
     
     
         15 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , wherein the arrangement is configured to be placed in at least one of: a drill pipe, a casing, or a hole. 
     
     
         16 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , wherein the arrangement is the ring and the orientation comprises a dipole of each one of the at least one of the plurality of magnets oriented in a same radial direction. 
     
     
         17 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of magnets comprises at least one of: a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, or a magneto-elastic magnet. 
     
     
         18 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , wherein the arrangement is located on at least one of: a tubing, a wireline, or a bottom-hole assembly (BHA). 
     
     
         19 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , further comprising an attachment configured to locate the at least one of the plurality of magnets on a downhole tool. 
     
     
         20 . The magnetic assembly tool of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one of the build-up of magnetorheological particles or the magneto-rheological effect generates a packing mechanism comprising at least one of: a radial packing or a lateral packing.